Muhi appointed as new PUP president in 'rushed' deliberation

Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) Vice President for Academic Affairs (VPAA) Dr. Manuel "Bong" Muhi was appointed by the Board of Regents (BOR) to be the 13th President of the university during their meeting at the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) in Diliman, Quezon City on Friday, February 7.

He will serve as university President from 2020-2024, succeeding out-going President Dr. Emanuel De Guzman after two consecutive terms that spanned for eight years.

Muhi garnered a total of seven votes from BOR; three votes ahead from fellow candidate National Defense College of the Philippines VPAA and Dean Dr. Theresita V. Atienza. Meanwhile, the three other candidates received no votes from the board, namely: PUP College of Communication Dean Dr. Divina Pasumbal, PUP College of Education Dean Dr. Ma. Junithesmer Rosales, and PUP Lopez Director Dr. Rufo Bueza.

Aside from his position in PUP, Muhi is a registered Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Engineer, and also works as a licensed civil engineer and a professional engineering manager.

Muhi's campaign is geared towards making PUP a "National Polytechnic University," with his ten goals or pillars which reflected his mission of "Re-engineering Polytechnic Education for National and Global Development."

The said election was met with criticism from several progressive groups due to the "lack of transparency and rushed process" for the appointment of the said position.

Based on the guidelines under CHED Memorandum Order No. 16, s. 2009, the Search Committee should supposedly submit the names of at least two candidates qualified based on the procedures that were indicated on the said memo, as well as the summary of the evaluation. However, according to The Catalyst, no reports of the evaluation was published.

In addition, Sandigan ng mga Mag-aaral para sa Sambayanan (SAMASA-PUP) pointed out that the selection and election process was "rushed" as there should be 30 more days before the scheduled election of the new PUP President:

"Isang manipestasyon ng hindi pagrespeto sa demokratikong proseso ng presidential selection ang hindi pagrespeto sa demokratikong karapatan ng PUP Community na makilahok dito," SAMASA said in a statement published in their Facebook page.

This issue was also brought out during a mobilization conducted in front of CHED. In between speeches demanding call for action on issues such as academic and press freedom, budget cuts, and militarization in schools, some student-representatives expressed their complaints regarding the fast pacing of events that led to the sudden election for the position.

“Hindi dapat nililigaw ang pag-announce sa mga ganitong balita. Isa sa mga pinakamalaking stakeholders ng PUP ang mga estudyante, ngunit hindi samin inanunsyo na may ganitong proseso sa araw na ito. Walang transparency sa buong proseso, hindi sa’tin nilabas ang search committee," Ache Cruz, a representative from The Catalyst and Alyansa ng Kabataang Mamamahayag (AKM), said.

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